Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. I know similar problems were rectified in late 2012, of which the farmers affected were greatly appreciative. However, the farmers in question were mandated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, to join the Twelve Bens destocking scheme. They simply had no choice. One of the conditions was that they were also mandated to participate in the agri-environment scheme. However, REPS had closed and AEOS was not available for certain periods. The end result was that these farmers were left with no agri-environment payment for 1 December 2012 to May 2013. Will the Minister engage with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, to see if a solution can be achieved between the two Departments to provide interim payments to these farmers?

See this speech in context